Tardelli hails 'fantastic year' for Irish football

Marco Tardelli will reflect upon a "fantastic year" as the Republic of Ireland bring their 2012 campaign to a close against Greece on Wednesday evening.

Despite a poor showing at the Euro 2012 finals in Poland and Ukraine, where they failed to collect a single point, and a 6-1 World Cup qualifier drubbing by Germany in Dublin last month, which left manager Giovanni Trapattoni fighting for his job, assistant boss Tardelli insists the last 12 months has had its successes.